Now that our parents and two eggs have survived their second snow storm of the season, I thought it would be nice to post something fun to help soothe the nerves of our loyal cam watchers who worried and fretted for our parents over the last couple days.

We have several amazing video clips to share, but first I want to give credit where it’s due. We have a wonderful U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ranger at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and his name is Tom Miller. Tom often pops a tape into the VCR at the Refuge for me, so that we can record some of the live video feed that comes from the Eagle Cam and Osprey Cam. Many of you have already enjoyed our video clips on our Blackwater Refuge YouTube Channel, and it’s thanks to Tom that I have access to these tapes in order to produce the clips.

Tom told me about a week ago that he thought he had captured the laying of our 2nd egg on tape. I had planned to go down to the Refuge and get the tape earlier, but then the last two snow storms prevented it. But recently I got the tapes in the mail, and low and behold we did get the 2nd egg laying on video — a first for the Blackwater Eagle Cam!

And so we’re very excited to share these clips with you. Note that these videos are also being offered on our YouTube channel for those who prefer to view them that way. For the clips below, left-click on the link to play the Windows Media Video file or right-click and choose “Save As” to download to your computer.

In the first video from January 23, we see an incubation switch as the mother returns to the nest to take over incubating the one egg. She settles into the nest cup and rocks herself back and forth in order to get the egg securely against her brood patch.

In the second video we see her on the egg, but if you look closely you can also see her back feathers ruffling and her sides beginning to heave a bit as she begins the process of laying the egg. This activity lasts a couple minutes, then she sits up slightly and begins to spread her wings out to her sides.

In the third clip we see her sit up even more and then check under herself a couple times as the egg arrives. The clip ends with her checking the new egg, possibly rolling both eggs, and then settling back down on them.

In the final clip we see the male arrive with some new nesting material. After the father places a stick on the mother’s back, she gets up to reveal two eggs — including the one that has just been laid.

We take our hats off to our parents. They really were amazing during this last major snow storm, and this video just makes us value the eggs they’re protecting even more. We hope our parents can continue to deal with the elements and bring us a pair of new eaglets around the end of February.

Technical Note
I did want to share one technical note as hatching nears: As some noticed, our website went down during the storm due to a power outage. If you ever notice that our site is not available — or if the cams are not updating — sometimes it’s helpful to visit WildCam.com. Wildcam is our partner in that we share our camera feeds with them, and sometimes their site is up while ours is down. You have to register to view the cams at WildCam, but it’s free, and you’ll see the exact same thing you see on our cams because it’s the same video feed.

Until next time,
Lisa – webmaster
Contact

Tags:
eagles, wildlife refuge, eagle cam, Blackwater Refuge, Maryland

If a third egg was coming, it would be here by now, so it looks like we have a two-egg clutch for 2010. This is the fifth time in six seasons that we’ve had two eggs, so it’s a common brood size. For those keeping score:

1st egg
Laid: January 20
Possible Hatch: February 24 or 25

2nd egg:
Laid: January 23
Possible Hatch: February 27 or 28

As for a description of our eggs, according to the Journey North eagle website:

“The eggs are dull white in coloration and may appear with some darkish flecks or staining. The surface of the shell is rough when compared to a chicken egg and the overall shape is rounder when compared to many bird species. On average, an eagle egg will measure 2.75 inches long by 2.25 inches wide, surprisingly small for a bird that will grow to have a six and half foot wingspan and weigh between 10 and 14 pounds before it leaves the nest in July.”

Our parents roll the eggs about once an hour to ensure that the embryo does not stick to the inside of the shell. This rolling is done with their talons in a ball, so they don’t accidentally puncture the egg. Each parent has a brood patch, which is a featherless area on their breasts that is infused with blood vessels and is sensitive to temperature, and they place the patch against the eggs to keep them warm. We’ve noticed our male eagle does not seem to mind sharing in the incubation, although we’re sure that sometimes the female eagle needs to call him back to the nest to take his turn.

As we watch our parents dutifully incubating over the coming weeks, keep in mind that the ultimate goal of incubation is to apply heat to the eggs so the cells inside will turn into vital organs, a beak, a tail, wings, etc. And even though our eggs are young, the little eaglets are already forming body parts inside the eggs.

I wanted to mention one other thing about our parents in this post. If you looked at our recent Eagle Cam Gallery update, you’ll notice one image where one of our parents has a pine sprig on its back. For those who have watched our cam in past seasons, you know this is a familiar scene.

We’ve noticed over the years that our parents enjoy bringing fresh pine sprigs to the nest. Sometimes they drop them off in the empty nest and sometimes they bring them in and place them on each other (see the video below).

Based on the type of trees at Blackwater, we’re guessing they’re loblolly pine sprigs. And our parents aren’t the only ones that exhibit this behavior. From the book Eagle’s Plume by Bruce Beans:

Far more curious are the fresh sprigs of pine needles that now-retired U.S. Forest Service biologist John Mathisen has found in virtually every [eagle] nest in northern Minnesota’s Chippewa National Forest. The sprigs are always white pine, even though red pine trees outnumber white pine there three to one. Does white pine have a chemical ingredient that repels insects? Does a pine sprig signal to a mate that this nest is the one they’ll use?

I have read that biologists also speculate the sprigs in the nest could be a way to let other birds know the nest is taken when the eagles are not around. But no one really knows for sure why the birds like having them in the nest.

We also don’t know why our parents like putting things on each other. We’ve seen them deposit sticks, grass, and pine sprigs on the seated parent’s head and back. Sometimes when one eagle does this, the other gets up off the eggs or chicks, so maybe it’s a tip that the other parent is ready to take over nest duties. But then again, sometimes the parent with the decoration on its back just refuses to get up. :-)

News from Blackwater Refuge

Last week, we heard from several cam watchers who said they enjoyed the winter photos that we posted in our web log entry, so we thought we’d share some more. In the first shot below, which is from photographer Jon McRay, we see two bald eagles on an osprey nest in the frozen river. The ice can do some serious damage to our water-based osprey nests, so they’ll likely require some repairs before the ospreys return in March.

And in the second shot, which is from photographer Bob Quinn, we see a Great blue heron, a couple Canada geese and several tundra swans on the marsh. And if you look closely, you’ll notice there is also an immature tundra swan in the shot (see the white bird with the gray on its face). Tundra swans migrate to Blackwater Refuge from northwest Canada and Alaska. You can read more about tundra swans and why their numbers are declining around the Chesapeake Bay on the Bay Daily blog.

And if you missed the link on the Osprey Cam page, be sure to check out Bob Quinn’s latest photos. Bob saw a huge number of eagles on a recent visit to Blackwater Refuge.

News from the Friends of Blackwater
Finally, we wanted to share some good news. Zeeger de Wilde — a long-time national wildlife refuge volunteer and a member of the Friends of Blackwater — has just won the national “Volunteer of the Year” award in the National Wildlife Refuge System. If you’ve visited Blackwater NWR during one of our festivals, you might have joined an Eagle Prowl led by Zeeger, or you might have enjoyed the lovely butterfly garden he helped create near our Visitor Center. During his very productive life, Zeeger has visited over 200 refuges, and volunteered over 12,000 hours at various refuges in the last 20 years. Few people are more dedicated to improving the National Wildlife Refuge System than Zeeger, and we offer him our congratulations and thanks. You can read more about Zeeger’s achievements on the National Wildlife Refuge Association awards page. Much congrats, Zeeger!

As a reminder, you too can help the Friends of Blackwater in our mission to assist the staff at Blackwater Refuge. Consider becoming a member of the Friends of Blackwater by visiting our Membership page. And if you are interested in volunteering some of your time, be sure to also visit our Volunteer page. No matter what activity you’d like to help with, training will be provided, and you’ll enjoy the benefits of working for one of the best refuges in the country.

Until next time,
Lisa – webmaster
Contact

Tags:
eagles, wildlife refuge, eagle cam, Blackwater Refuge, Maryland